In Solapur, hunger, heat kills old couple; mentally challenged son informed locals, but nobody believed him

Mumbai: For three days, a mentally challenged youth kept telling people his mother had died. He was sobbing as he said this, but no one took him seriously. It was only when a relative visited his home did it emerge; both his parents were dead.

This is a heart-wrenching story of how the lockdown is killing people, especially the poor and the old. Abdulghani Shiledar, 65, and Haseena Shiledar, 60, resided in Shastri Nagar, Solapur. Haseena was suffering from various ailments and was in no state to cook or carry out any daily chores.

The Shiledars had a young son, Isaq, who is mentally challenged. Shastri Nagar is a densely populated area. Shiledarhad retired from the Solapur Municipal Corporation. Because of their age, they needed assistance with daily functions like bathing and cooking.

In the pre-lockdown days, their relatives took care of them. It was on May 5 that one of their relatives, Ashfaq Shiledar, had bathed them and served them food. After that, a strict lockdown was imposed in this area and Ashfaq could not make it for three days.

Haseena, who was already ill, could not bear the heat and hunger and died. The shock of her death caused Abdulghani to have a heart attack and he too died. When the son saw his mother had died, he immediately told the people in his area about it. But nobody believed him.